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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit stayed a sweeping district court injunction that had prevented Florida from enforcing its law protecting children from sexually explicit adult performances. As a result, Florida may now enforce its child-protection law prohibiting minors from attending sexually explicit adult shows statewide.
In 2023, Florida enacted SB 1438, which prohibits venues from admitting minors to sexually explicit adult live performances. Shortly after the law took effect, Hamburger Mary’s sued in federal district court and sought an injunction. The district court granted that request and enjoined enforcement of the law statewide, even though the plaintiff had sought relief based solely on its own operations. Florida appealed, and after a divided panel decision affirmed the statewide injunction, the State moved for rehearing en banc and sought a stay of the injunction pending further review.
The Eleventh Circuit granted Florida’s motion for a stay pending rehearing en banc, restoring the State’s ability to enforce SB 1438 against everyone except Hamburger Mary’s. The stay ensures that children will not be admitted to sexually explicit adult live performances outside the venue that sued over SB 1438. The stay leaves the district court’s injunction in place only with respect to the named plaintiff in the case.
America First Legal (AFL) filed an amicus brief with Jonathan F. Mitchell, urging the Court to reject the unlawfully broad injunction entered by the district court. As AFL explained in its brief, federal courts lack the authority to suspend state laws wholesale based on the claims of a single plaintiff, particularly where narrow, as-applied relief would fully address any alleged injury.
America First Legal will continue to defend the Constitution, oppose unlawful universal injunctions, and support state efforts to protect children.
Read the full brief here.
Read the court’s order here.
Read more of AFL's amicus briefs here.
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